- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y
I wouldn't classify my self as having severe ocd. But I have been dealing with ROCD for about 4 years and I have gotten better results from ERP therapy here then I ever have through other therapist and my own methods.
Thank you! How often do you have therapy? I say severe because just a year ago I tried ERP and didn’t work, I did IOP and felt like I was just being exposed and then I’ll go back to compulsions, or maybe I was doing wrong wrong I don’t know. My therapists then suggested I commit to IOP every day and I couldn’t do it. I quit, it was so hard and I wasn’t getting any better. With NOCD , I hear many people get better and I keep thinking how? Should I try it?
Yes but I even doubt it , as a compulsion , I take ocd tests, I contact different therapist and read articles to make sure it’s ocd and even though right now I know it’s ocd, I don’t always believe it
Omg, thank you so much for yo to post. I guess I’m reluctant to treatment in some ways because it didn’t work the first time. I was doing IOP twice a week 1.5 hour each day, but my therapist said that I needed more, perhaps every day because I was losing sense of reality? I was believing all my ocd thoughts and had lost insight. Anyways, it’s been 6months that I stopped IOP and am looking to go back to perhaps doing a more intense treatment. Maybe, everyday. How much IOP did you do?
You're welcome! I did an IOP that ran 5 days a week. M-T was 3.5 hours a day (2 hours ERP), and F was 2.5 hours a day (1 hour ERP). That was the right amount for me, but I know it can be hard when you have work and family obligations on top of that. But I definitely think it could be something that's worth exploring for you again, even if it's just to investigate what's out there and what might best suit your needs. <3
Ok, I think if I can handle this, I would like to be an NOcD peer advisor.
We'll for starters, I would make sure so was financially stable. If so, assuming that dealing with life when OCD runs the show really freaking sucks for you, what do you got to lose? OCD is the hardest thing I've ever experienced and I'd be damned if I didn't give not feeling so shitty a chance.
If you feel comfortable answering, what are your themes?
I’ve suffered from ROCD, Harm, POCD and HOCD. Right now, HOCD. As you know, ocd jumps from theme to theme
Is HOCD harm ocd?
No, the other
Oh ok, is that the same thing as SO OCD? ROCD has always been my theme but there was a short time that I wondered if the reason I have rocd is because I'm actually gay. That managed to go away pretty quickly though for me.
Yes 😢
Not for me
Mine started with POCD, then jumped to Harm, then jumped to ROCD and finally HOCD. I’ve recovered from POCD but not the other themes
That must be rough dude. For me the hardest thing is objectively seeing that it's OCD but it feeling like it's the truth
Same, most of the time it doesn’t seem like it’s ocd and it’s me and I panic!!!! The hardest thing for me has been suffering with this for so long and not knowing I had ocd
When did it start to dawn on you that you had OCD?
Well, I had all those intrusive thoughts that began 13 years ago, I thought I was going crazy. So, I hit rock bottom, no one knew what to diagnose me with. They said GAD. Maybe a few years later, I started researching online and found intrusive thoughts eventually hit OCD and got diagnosed last year
Did it feel a little better to finally have a diagnosis that makes sense?
Me neither. The uncertainty is the most unbearable part.
Yes! I literally have obsessions and compulsions from when I wake to when I go to sleep
What are some of the obsessions and compulsions you've been going through lately?
Well it’s all related to that theme and I ruminate all day and research to make sure it’s ocd
Would you say your compulsions are more mental then physical? That's how it is with me. There are some physical ones like looking for signs in words or letters I see around me. Or trying to feel affectionate feelings during intimate moments.
Yes
I do the same with ROCD
Heya, I've recovered from extremely severe OCD with the help of NOCD. I worked with NOCD for a couple of months, but then I got worse (for unrelated reasons) and they recommended I do an IOP. It helped, but I wound up relapsing and had to go back to IOP for a further 7 weeks. That time, the improvements stuck. But the point is that in that whole period, if I wasn't in IOP, I was working with NOCD. I'm still working with them now. And even though I wasn't always doing the NOCD program specifically, I remained in touch with my NOCD therapist and felt like NOCD staff were supporting me that whole time. Having them play that role for me made a huge difference in my recovery. I saw in the comments that you did an IOP too and that you didn't feel like it helped you. I'm sorry for that. In terms of treatment, NOCD offers a similar ERP approach to what you'd get in most OCD IOPs, but with a smaller amount of hours per week. If a NOCD therapist feels that isn't enough for you, they may recommend you do an IOP and then come back to NOCD after. I can't say why that IOP didn't work for you, but I will say that that doesn't mean that *every* IOP (or ERP treatment generally) isn't going work for you. It's also important to be aware that it can take a while to start seeing results with ERP, and that it's normal to get worse before you get better. But if treatment truly isn't working for you--NOCD, IOP, anything--you have the right to talk to your care team and try address that. ERP is really hard, especially when your OCD is severe. In my experience, though, it's less hard that living with the OCD. Having gone through it, I'd the pain of ERP over the pain of OCD any day. One other way NOCD can help with all this is that members get access to free Zoom support groups, so you can find support, community and advice to help you cope as you go through treatment. It's definitely made a really big difference for me, and even if there were no other benefits, I'd recommend NOCD just for that. Woof, I wrote an essay. I hope some of this helps! Best of luck as you go through this process. <3
The scariest thing for me, is that I have work and kids and a family and when I was doing therapy twice a week with really hard exposures, I started doing more compulsions than ever!!! I guess maybe the exposures were too difficult and I wasn’t ready for them. I felt like my life was all around compulsions and I had ignored my family completely.
Ok so I think that sounds like something my therapist wanted me to do. Curious, what would you do the other hour if not erp?
Psychoeducation group--learning skills, etc. =)
So you went from IOP to NOCD?
I went from NOCD ➡️ IOP ➡️ NOCD ➡️ PHP ➡️ IOP ➡️ NOCD. But I was doing NOCD support groups as well most of the time I was in IOP. Peer advisor is a full time job, so it might not work for you, but being able to help folk in that kinda way is a great goal to have 😊 It's why I do this!
So it’s been a journey for you. Wow. So you are better now? I mean maybe in the future , if I get better
I have had ocd for decades! Could I still be cured???? (Of you can call it that?) I have seen different therapists but it never had fully left me...not by any stretch of the imagination. I do want to be free of this ocd and its power over me and all the bad that it brought into my life!!! Some days I am strong and feel like I am fighting it put other days...many days...I don't get things done or if I do I take a long time to-do the things I need to get done. I feel like I know this is just then ocd stopping me and that these are just thoughts but nobody in my family understands and though they have shared my journey and hated it a I do.....it just feels like I want so bad to be the best person I coukd be but I avoid places, people, things, that have any reminder of my ocd.......and so it restricts me from getting better and completing tasks the way I used to. Now UI might go and make 2-3 trips cuz I am worried to shop at a place and therefore it takes my time up. The avoidance I do is bad! When I actually don't listen to my ocd and don't avoid something...I feel great! ,However, it happens so rarely!!! I.dont know how finding a therapist through NOCD will help me. It is not in person and two be honest I almost think I need medicine to push me along. I don't have anybsteady and consistent improvements. However, I don't think I want to be on medication for the rest of my life! I am very confused!
I’ve been dealing with ocd my whole life, and just got diagnosed about a year ago. I feel my days becoming occupied with thoughts, urges, fears and worry that completely debilitate me. It’s getting to the point where i feel like it’s taking over my life. I don’t see this getting any better, even with the therapy and medication I’m on. I’m scared my life will be like this forever, I’m tired. My brain is tired of ruminating every second of every day from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep. I’m not sure how much longer I can go on like this.
I’m so scared I’ll be stuck in this forever soo soo scared
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